Hitachi Energy Wins $873M Contract for Italy-Tunisia HVDC Submarine Power Link in Historic Europe-Africa Interconnection
Guest Contributor
Contributor
Italian grid operator Terna and Tunisian electricity and gas company STEG have awarded Hitachi Energy a contract worth approximately US$873 million to build the converter stations for the Elmed electricity interconnection project, completing procurement for what will be the first high-voltage direct current submarine electricity link between Europe and North Africa. The 600-megawatt interconnection will extend approximately 220 kilometres, mostly via submarine cable reaching depths of around 800 metres in the Strait of Sicily, with converter stations at Partanna in Sicily and Mlaabi on Tunisia's Cape Bon peninsula.
Strategic and Geopolitical Significance
The Elmed project sits at the intersection of energy security, infrastructure finance, and European-African geopolitical strategy in a way that distinguishes it from conventional cross-border electricity interconnections. The project forms part of Italy's Mattei Plan for Africa, a framework designed to strengthen economic, energy, and geopolitical partnerships between Europe and African countries, positioning Italy and the broader EU as strategic partners for North African energy development rather than merely energy importers. The European Commission has allocated US$348 million through the Connecting Europe Facility grant programme managed by CINEA, and according to Terna this marks the first time the EU has financed a project involving a non-member country, establishing a precedent for European infrastructure financing that extends beyond the bloc's borders. On the Tunisian side, the project is supported by the World Bank, the European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and KfW, reflecting a broad multilateral financial commitment to the interconnection as a development infrastructure asset.
Technical Scope and HVDC Architecture
Hitachi Energy's scope covers the full HVDC solution for both converter stations, including converter valves, its MACH digital control and protection platform, power transformers, and high-voltage switchgear, alongside system studies, design and engineering, supply, installation supervision, and commissioning. The consortium partners D'Agostino Costruzioni Generali and Orascom Construction SAE will carry out civil works and electromechanical installations at the Partanna and Mlaabi stations respectively. The HVDC technology is the appropriate choice for a submarine interconnection of this length and depth, providing efficient power transmission with lower losses than alternating current over long subsea distances and enabling precise bidirectional power flow control between the two grids. The 600 MW capacity represents a significant addition to the interconnection capacity between the European and North African grids, enabling both renewable energy export from Tunisia's substantial solar resources and power balancing between the two systems during periods of surplus or deficit.
Financing Structure and Total Investment
The total project investment of US$1.61 billion reflects the scale and complexity of building the first Europe-North Africa HVDC link across the Strait of Sicily. The multilateral financing structure, combining European Commission grants, development bank loans, and national investment, distributes the financial risk across multiple institutional partners while providing the long-term capital certainty needed for a major submarine cable infrastructure project. The EU grant funding through the Connecting Europe Facility is particularly significant because it signals institutional recognition of the Elmed interconnection as strategic European energy infrastructure despite its partial location outside EU territory, setting a framework that could be applied to future interconnections with other North African and Eastern Mediterranean partners.
Implications for European Energy Security and the Mediterranean Grid
The Elmed interconnection advances a vision of the Mediterranean as an energy corridor connecting Europe's renewable energy demand with North Africa's vast solar and wind resources. As Europe accelerates its transition away from Russian fossil fuel imports and seeks to diversify its energy supply, submarine HVDC links to North African partner countries offer a pathway to accessing large-scale clean power from a geographically proximate and politically aligned region. For Tunisia, the interconnection provides access to European electricity markets and creates the infrastructure foundation for developing and exporting the country's substantial renewable energy potential. The successful delivery of the Elmed project, with its historic financing structure and cross-continental reach, is likely to catalyse further investment in Mediterranean submarine electricity interconnections and to strengthen the case for a more integrated European-North African energy system over the coming decade.
Guest Contributor
Contributor
This article was contributed by an external writer affiliated with our publication.
